Hirschman Fourth Different RoC Asphalt Mod Winner Of ’17

Story By: RACE OF CHAMPIONS – NORTH EAST, PA – Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa., holds the distinction of being the all-time winner in the history of the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series. This past Saturday night at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pa., Hirschman added win number 36 to his resume. Hirschman became the fourth different winner of the season in as many races and had to hold off some young and talented drivers to capture the win.

“Our car was pretty good tonight,” stated Hirschman from Race of Champions Modified Series victory lane fueled by Sunoco. “We have a few adjustments we would like to make before we come back in September, but tonight really went our way. Tommy (Catalano) ran me a little harder earlier than I would have liked and based on what happened here last year, I had some concerns. We only had one caution and that helped us out. It was a good way to measure what we’ve got for when we come back in September and we are definitely looking forward to that.”

Daren Scherer of Binghamton, N.Y., and Scott Wylie of Hamburg, N.Y., made up the front row, but before the green flag waved, Wylie pulled out of line in turn three with rear axle problems. This slid up the outside row, moving Hirschman to Scherer’s flank. When the green flew Hirschman used the outside lane to his advantage and jumped into the lead.

Tommy Catalano, who started 8th, quickly worked his way through the field and to the back bumper of Hirschman. Catalano made repeated moves to get by Hirschman but it was to no avail. Catalano finished second earning his best career finish.

George Skora of Eden, N.Y., started 9th and worked his way to 3rd at the checkered.

Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y., out dueled Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., for 4th, while Leaty held on for 5th.

Current point leader, Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. finished 10th, while Andy Jankowkiak of Buffalo, N.Y., who was second in points, finished 7th. Emerling remains in the lead by 9 over Jankowiak and Skora, who are tied for second in number of points. Jankowiak holds the tie-breaker with his opening race victory. The point race after the first four races has put a premium on qualifying and bonus points.

Hossfeld earned the fastest overall time during group trials, his first fast time of the season.

Catalano, Hirschman and Hossfeld won the three qualifying races.

The Race of Champions is a sanctioning body presenting Modified and Stock Car racing on asphalt and dirt surfaces throughout the Northeast, with events in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The 67th annual Race of Champions weekend will take place in 2017 at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pennsylvania and is the second longest consecutive auto-racing event in North America, second only to the Indianapolis 500.

For more information, contact;

Race of Champions Media at media@rocmodifiedseries.com

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Feature Finish

Lake Erie 75 presented by Jim Moss Builders

Lake Erie Speedway, North East, Pennsylvania

Finishing Position, Car Number, Driver, Laps Completed, Reason Out (If Any)

Pos No. Name Laps

1 60 Matt Hirschman 75

2 54 Tommy Catalano 75

3 65 George Skora 75

4 22 Chuck Hossfeld 75

5 25 Mike Leaty 75

6 66 Austin Kochenash 75

7 12x Andy Jankowiak 75

8 76 Zane Zeiner 75

9 32 Tyler Rypkema 75

10 07 Patrick Emerling 75

11 64 Amy Catalano 75

12 9 Brandon Oltra 75

13 59 Karl Hehr 74

14 95 Bryan Sherwood 74

15 10 Daryl Lewis, Jr. 74

16 40 Alan Bookmiller 74

17 99 Bill Mislin 74

18 40 Tommy Rought 72

19 o76 Randall Richards 45

20 3 Daren Scherer 34 Out Engine

21 22jr Scott Wylie 0 Out Rear End

Time of Race: 41 minutes 22 seconds Average Speed 61.885 mph

Margin of victory: 0.854 seconds Fast Qualifying Lap: Chuck Hossfeld – 14.595 seconds @ 92.497 mph

Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers (Daren Scherer – 0, Matt Hirschman 1-75)

Qualifying Race Results:

Qualifying Race 1

Pos No. Name

1 54 Tommy Catalano

2 25 Mike Leaty

3 32 Tyler Rypkema

4 3 Daren Scherer

5 40 Alan Bookmiller

6 99 Bill Mislin

7 40 Tommy Rought

Qualifying Race 2

Pos No. Name

1 60 Matt Hirschman

2 65 George Skora

3 66 Austin Kochenash

4 22jr Scott Wylie

5 59 Karl Hehr

6 10 Daryl Lewis, Jr.

7 9 Brandon Oltra

Qualifying Race 3

Pos No. Name

1 22 Chuck Hossfeld

2 07 Patrick Emerling

3 76 Zane Zeiner

4 12x Andy Jankowiak

5 95 Bryan Sherwood

6 64 Amy Catalano

7 o76 Randall Richards

Point Standings following Spencer Speedway (Including Fastest Qualifying Time and Qualifying Race Bonus) 06/02/2017:

Pos No. Name Total

1 07 Patrick Emerling 358

2 12x Andy Jankowiak 349

3 65 George Skora 349

4 54 Tommy Catalano 327

5 5 Mike Leaty 298

6 22 Chuck Hossfeld 283

7 95 Bryan Sherwood 280

8 32 Tyler Rypkema 280

9 3 Daren Scherer 239

10 10 Daryl Lewis 229

11 64 Amy Catalano 229

12 60 Matt Hirschman 225

13 59 Karl Hehr 200

14 11 Kirk Totten 160

15 40 Tommy Rought 150

16 66 Austin Kochenash 138

17 51 TJ Potrzebowski 116

18 1 Chris Risdale 108

19 40 Alan Bookmiller 102

20 71 Jimmy Zacharias 72

21 01 Cam Barber 69

22 76 Zane Zeiner 69

23 17 Roger Coss 66

24 7ny Kevin Miller 60

25 9 Brandon Oltra 56

26 4 Kreig Heroth 48

27 99 Bill Mislin 47

28 o76 Randall Richards 45

29 22jr Scott Wylie 43

30 25r John Ramsay 20